Tempestas Aegrotatio: Seal of Scar
by As of Yet
Summary: Memories flash by as Ako is reawakened to the magical world. However, there are those who would utilize her, and those who would want her and the secrets her scar hold gone. I'm trying a bunch of weird pairings here. Nagi comes back?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Yes, I changed my name to As of Yet. I like the way it sounds, much better than what it was before. Anyways, yes, another rewrite. I'm getting sick of this whole business but I can't rest anymore since I read Negima! up to the latest American release. So, I decided to amp up the action in the beginning and add another OC for the heck of it. Anyways, here's your prologue. Enjoy now, please. Oh, it's about lovely Ako again, but it may center aroudn Natsumi, later. Or I'll write a seperate one for her.

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**Tempestas Aegrotatio: Seal of Scar**

**Prologue**

"Akoooooooooooo! Where are you?"

Little Ako hid behind a tree far beyond the boundaries allotted to them by the teachers, smiling and stifling her giggles. She peeked around the tree and saw Yuna and Makie running around, and to Ako, they seemed so far off they would never find her. The young girl quickly swept her head back behind the tree before anyone saw her blue-grey hair.

"Shit!" A voice whispered from not too far away. Ako froze in place, scrunching up slowly.

A shadow rose from the ground, while something dropped from the trees. Two young men were standing a distance away from her, closer than her friends off in the schoolyard were. Dead leaves and plants littered the ground by her feet; she could not run without the two men noticing. Yet it didn't matter, as Ako was frozen to the spot, shocked by the shadow from the ground, the silent landing of the other man. They conversed in a language Ako had only heard spoken by a limited population of Mahora; Chinese. Occasionally, one of the men would return in Japanese, but she could obtain nothing from their conversation.

A flash of white light shot from beyond the trees, and the two men turned. One of them had shocking green eyes; yet other than that the two men, teenagers, Ako noted, were textbook Chinese. One of the reared a fist high into the air, but the green-eyed man stopped him with a flash of his palm.

Takahata and Gandolfini landed away from them, the older white haired man jumping at the pair as soon as he landed. The green-eyed boy's hand fell, and his companion rushed to the charge, both fists rearing behind his waist. Without hesitation, Gandolfini pulled a gun and shot him with a blinding light clear in the chest, knocking the boy from the air with a smoking spot on his chest.

The green-eyed boy fell into the shadows again, melting quickly as Takahata changed course. Ako gasp quietly, catching the attention of Takahata as he looked around.

"Izumi-kun!"

Ako felt an arm wrap around her neck as she was quickly lifted off the ground. A black cloud blinded her right eye, and she turned to see him holding a hand engulfed in what appeared to be a black flame by her head, and she screamed. Gandolfini turned finally and fired again, but the boy jumped into the tree and whirled over their heads to the paralyzed body of his companion, leaving Ako dizzy and weak.

"I'll blow this girl's head off if you don't let me go!" He cried in broken Japanese.

Takahata lowered his hand and Gandolfini his gun. However, the older man seemed to be smiling, as though he knew something that neither Ako nor the Chinese boy knew. As his smiled faded, Ako screamed; the scar on her back was burning, and her sight was fading. Horrible images of destruction and murder rolled through her mind, and if her body would respond she would have clutched her head in attempt to block it all out. As her scream died, the boy's own started, and its heightening pitch was the last thing she heard.

Takahata watched the torture with stoic eyes, felt sorry for the small girl, though even more so for the young man. Ako felt no pain when she received that scar. That boy would feel it aching for the rest of his life.

The Chinese boy dropped the limp Ako to the ground and fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Smoke rolled out from under him, yet no smell of anything burning permeated the air. His breathing came in deep and quick gasps, his eyes were wide and bloodshot, creating a strange contrast. Slowly, he straightened himself on his knees and made a motion to hoist his unconscious companion up over his shoulder. Gandolfini shot at him, clipping him on the wrist without so much as a thought to the pain the boy had just experienced.

"I understand." The boy muttered, and disappeared into the ground again.

Takahata walked over slowly, lighting a cigarette and cradling Ako. Slowly, black markings were receding behind her uniform's collar, and her body was cooling, her breathing slowing. Soon she was no more than a normal child who had passed out, and would remain so for a long time, he imagined. As he stared at the sleeping child, he couldn't help but smile.

"She reminds me of Negi, when she's asleep like this." He said sentimentally to Gandolfini.

Gandolfini replied with a strange grunt, and Takahata looked up. His body fell to the ground, a small fire dancing on his clothing.

"Gandolfini!" Takahata cried. He saw the other Chinese boy holding his fist in the air, the white glow fading quickly.

_Kanka!? _

Takahata's mind raced, and he opted to run for it, quickly jumping away. Gandolfini knew what risks he took being a teacher here, and had accepted them with a grim heart. Ako could not be harmed in any way, and if Takahata himself had fallen instead, Gandolfini would have taken the child and left him there. It was a melancholic system, but the magical youth of Mahora had to be kept secret and safe, especially the select few strewn across the campus, whether they knew their own potential or not.

He jumped about the campus buildings, heading for the main building in the center of the Mahora Academic Campus. He had absolutely no time to spare, and leapt from the roof of an adjacent building to the headmaster's office, smashing through the window, cradling Ako even tighter.

"Takamichi!" The old man squawked, clearly unimpressed by the entry and not at all phased by his destroyed window.

Takahata stood slowly, checking the girl cradled in his arms before setting her down on a nearby couch. He brushed shards of glass off his suit and sweat off his brow before beginning an explanation.

"The two intruders escaped. We let one go on the grounds that the other stay. The one that was left behind shot Gandolfini with a crude form of the _Kanka_. The one that left was shocked by her scar. They seemed unaware of her status."

Konoemon Konoe nodded and stroked his beard, walking over to the young girl on the couch, leaning over her frail body and muttering something incomprehensible to Takahata.

"She won't remember this for a long time. Best to leave her in the infirmary and have Shizuna-sensei make up an excuse, for now. In the meantime, go back and get Gandolfini, and look for the one who shot him. He can't have gone very far in such short time."

Takahata nodded and silently left the room through the door, closing it quietly behind him. As he strolled down the hall, he himself wondered what was so special about Ako. The headmaster had kept the staff in the dark about several of the higher-priority students, including his granddaughter, Konoka Konoe. Takahata himself was privy to the magic cancelling secrets of Asuna Kagurazaka, known to him as Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia. There were even some students whose identities were kept secrets from everybody except the headmaster's most trusted assistants, such as Takahata himself. Izumi Ako had been included within this category of "Whispers", and Takahata knew nothing of her besides the defensive ability of her mysterious scar. Her parents, her true name, her origins, nothing else. It was rumored among the circle of trustees that Konoemon himself knew little about this girl. It was all very disturbing and very frightening, to even the most stoic of agents.

Takahata returned to a still-unconscious Gandolfini lying in the forest, but was surprised to find that his previously burning clothes had been doused selectively to prevent the mage from waking up. At once Takahata assumed that it was the Chinese boy, but he was unable to grasp why the one who had unleashed such a merciless attack would take the risk of dousing a member of his pursuers' party. Deciding that he wouldn't be able to decipher it all by staring at Gandolfini's half charred body; he picked up the mage and strolled along a hidden route to the teacher's infirmary, thinking to himself.

He watched the shadows of leaves flow by and sighed, making sure to conceal Gandolfini's limp body from any stray student, letting his mind drift otherwise.

_Their target had not been Izumi_, Takahata thought to himself. His face showed his concern, and his muscles ached from frowning so vigorously. _She was just a passer-by who had been picked up in the conflict. However… _

Takahata stopped and stared at the path ahead of him. It had grown dark, the numerous trees blocking out the sun from the path. His eyes widened as he realized the danger that had been invoked in letting the green-eyed boy hold onto her for so long.

_They know about Izumi, know. This is trouble._

He hurried to the infirmary, as quickly as one could travel with a grown man thrown over one's shoulder, with a cold resolution, an untold promise that would hold for another ten years. And for those ten years Takahata watched her grow from the shadows, dropping hints to his colleagues whenever he left on assignments, hoping that no one would come for her. No one ever did, despite the notable ruckus that Konoka and Asuna caused in the magic world, no one ever noticed the presence of the girl with the mysterious scar, and for the better.

Yet someone did notice, but long after their time, long after her normal life had ended. That someone had been once determined in rewriting history, and that someone would do it once more if she had to. And so that someone once again breached the laws of time, armed to the teeth and ready to unleash her latest plan to the entire world…

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**Next Chapter**

Ako contemplates her life and memories, which now all seem blurred. Meanwhile, Zazie has gone missing and Natsumi is confused.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's note: It's about time I focused on someone different for a while, don't you think? But it's back to Ako, and now Natsumi, too. I've decided that for convenience's sake, I'll keep Natusmi's and Ako's stories together. You, my wonderful readers… If you say crows are white, then I will go out and dye any instance of crows in my fictions (which is none) white! ENJOY! And then write me a review, please. Christian Doppler, Google him.

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**Tempestas Aegrotatio: Seal of Scar**

**Chapter 1**

Ako bolted from her comfortable position on the bed, her arms wrapped around her waist, subconsciously poking at the scar on her back. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes wide, though no one could see, no one could hear. Without realizing, she began to speak in a slow, whispered tone.

"Scar… Scar… It burns… Scar…" She whispered, and followed with a monotonous groan that was not at all the scream she had uttered so many years back.

The darkness around her slowly faded as her wide and fearful eyes adjusted from that sudden shock. She was in the dorms, the dorms she would be using for several more years to come. For now, she was a middle school student, in the class 3-A. Her life was normal compared to the rambunctious group that situated themselves around the ten-year-old teacher of her class, Negi Springfield, and wit the festival's end, her life become even more normal.

She admired a guy. She got decent grades. She had a steady group of friends who supported her all the way. She had her own problems, but that was it. No magic, secret dealings, nothing that had been so graphically described in her dreams. Then she realized. Dream. The entire time, she had been dreaming about Takahata-sensei. Ako blushed heavily and wondered what was wrong with herself. She certainly hadn't been hanging out with Asuna that much.

Passing off the dream as something stimulated from a movie she had watched some time ago, she stared at the wall clock, attempting to adjust to the dark enough to read it. Four o'clock in the morning. Her breathing slowed, her heart settled, and the blood rushed out of her flustered face. The horrific scar on her back stopped aching, and she let out a sigh of relief. Izumi Ako was at peace with the world once more, and fell asleep to the rhythmic breathing of her roommate Sasaki Makie.

By the time her alarm clock rung the next morning, the odd dream had been completely eradicated by a strangely satisfying dream about Nagi, that beautiful boy. Misa had told her that Negi would grow up to look exactly like him, but somehow Ako could not see Negi as a smooth, sophisticated man like Nagi. Now, if only she knew the truth!

The morning's trek to school was brightened by the ever-cheery Yuna, who listened enthusiastically to Makie's recounting of Ako's dream-induced spasm. The girl in question, who had been daydreaming of Nagi once more, was rudely awoken by the image of Takahata jumping from building to building. She blushed once more with perfect timing, and wondered secretly if Takahata could really do that, while laughing to conceal her thoughts.

As soon as the oak doors slid open the quartet of athlete girls were subject to the mysteriously loud classroom that housed 3-A. They migrated to an empty spot and continued to chat away, plucking nikuman buns from Satsuki as she walked by.

The bell rung its Big Ben chime and the girls slowly and grudgingly swapped places with each other until they reached the spots they had been sitting at for nearly two years. It was at this point that their beloved child teacher would begin the homeroom class, yet instead the spot was filled by their beloved child teacher screaming down the hallway, breaking as many laws as possible and kicking Christian Doppler in the shins. At least, that was how Ako imagined it.

The door was violently kicked aside by a rather miffed and sleep deprived Asuna, who had stuffed under her arm a struggling, and still screaming, Negi. Konoka and Setsuna walked passed the struggling pair without so much as a glance, though Konoka let out a small giggle which rippled through the classroom and grew into a full-fledged roar. Negi, shaky and rather terrified, made his way to the podium and stood up on the stool set there by the class, once more began attempting to calm the collective horde of insane teenaged girls. To say the least, the recent events of the school festival proved easier tasks than this.

Indeed, not a week had passed since the end of the festival, and none of the girls showed any sign of exhaustion from the war game that had taken place, or for that matter, the endless parties that ravaged the campus. It was as though the classroom itself was a spring of endless energy, though only for those not constantly engaged in life-threatening battles.

Asuna, upon reaching her seat, had collapsed. Setsuna was noticeably less alert and oddly prone to nodding away. Konoka, although bubbly, had been hiding away dark rings under her eyes with makeup for several days. Chisame was already asleep on her desk, her glasses beside her. Evangeline and Chachamaru were missing, though this time because of the damage Chachamaru had received. Mana and Kaede sported various injuries. The two girls outside of this group of life-and-death battlers who were noticeably tired were Yuna, who had her chin in her hands and stared blankly at the board, still drained from her amazing physical feats during the war game, and Ako, who had a fitful sleep despite dreaming of her prince, Nagi.

Negi wearily accounted for the members of his now-quiet class, hardly looking up as the girls responded to their names. However, he had found that it was necessary to look up for the last member of his class. This one was the only one who hardly spoke; forcing Negi to look up, otherwise he would think that she was a mute. Yet this time some surprise came to him, as if none came to him whenever he interacted with this girl. Zazie Rainyday was not present, though it seemed to hardly make a difference. On one hand, Negi wanted to say she was sick and leave it at that. On the other hand, her absence had a strange effect on the class. Maybe it was because they were all staring at Haruna, who likewise was staring at the empty seat behind her.

It was at that point that another man walked into the room. He was wearing sunglasses, and kept them perched high upon his nose, as though he wanted none to see his eyes. They were, due to their size, ineffectual, as everyone managed at least once glimpse of his eyes. Ako, however, got much more.

A noticeable glare was pointed in her direction as he passed over to Negi's podium. The sunglasses even seemed angled to allow him to glare at her in such a subtle matter. Such a horrifying stare forced Ako to look away and blush, and at the same time hope that no one else saw it. He whispered something into Negi's ear, a motion which caught the attention of every student in the classroom; the collective murmurs interested Ako enough to look back up.

Negi nodded a few times and glanced about the room. The newcomer smiled and ran out of the room, waving as he closed the door. The class went silent as they watched him leave, and remained so for a few more moments. As soon as Negi opened his mouth to continue the class, a torrent of questions ran him over.

A whole lot of "Who was he?"s and "What did he want?"s screamed through the room, with the occasional snide comment sneaking through. Negi was once again unable to calm his class, though it really was easier with several students half-asleep. This continued on well after the end of homeroom, slowing down with the occasional hint whenever it seemed his guard was down.

After Nitta terrorized the students and reprimanded Negi, all in one fell swoop, the incident with the 'Sunglasses Man', as he was now referred to as, had fallen to the back of the minds of all the students except one, possibly two. Akashi Yuna was plotting a devious stalking, involving equipment from the presumably curious Asakura Kazumi. The answers that she fabricated jumped around in her head, lowering her attention span to an unheard of level. At this point, one would have regarded her as suffering from a deficiency.

The Big Ben chime rung once more, signaling the end of classes, and the pistol shot that sent Yuna off in a sprint that put Misora to shame. With that hyper-powered sprint, Makie, Akira, and a daydreaming Ako were sucked into the vortex known as Yuna's hands, and their collective screams stabbed Christian Doppler many times in the abdomen.

However, Christian Doppler was not stabbed, but stifled; Yuna smashed through the door of an adjacent classroom and waited for Negi and company to depart, all while struggling with Ako, Makie and Akira. The struggle did not last very long, as amidst the confused murmur of class 3B, Yuna listened for any hint of where they might go next. It came in the form of Konoka's giggly voice: Chao Lingshen's old restaurant stand, _Chao BaoZi_, now run by Satsuki and Ku Fei. Yuna kicked the door aside and charged in the other direction, running Christian Doppler over.

Along the way Yuna picked up Kazumi, and together the five girls, four girls dragged by Yuna, rushed to the dorms. Yuna spouted out a quick explanation which Kazumi picked up at once, and responded merely by shouldering a bag that lay in the corner and walking out the door. Smiling, Yuna grabbed the remainder of the unwilling Sports Girls by their collars and dragged them to the cart. Slowly.

Negi sat at the bar of the main car, nervously waiting for the man earlier. Asuna, Setsuna and Konoka were sitting by him, leaving an open seat for the Sunglasses Man next to Negi. They had not been waiting long when Yuna and her party arrived, sitting in a position that hopefully was obscured from Negi's view. Ako watched them with mild interest, munching on some dim sum that Chachamaru had sent over two minutes ago. Thirty seconds ago, five of them were gone, snatched up by the ravenous Yuna.

Twenty dollars and sixteen plates of nikuman later, the man in question arrived, apologizing in a language they were all struggling to learn. He no longer wore his sunglasses, revealing standard issue brown eyes that seemed as though they were made for blending into crowds. There was nothing particularly special about this man, other than his mastery of English.

"He must be an American," Yuna said through a mouthful of meat. "He has no accent at all! Asakura, is it set up?"

Kazumi gave her enthusiastic approval, flicking a switch on an inconspicuous device placed casually in the middle of the table. After a few seconds of static, their dialogue crackled through. They spoke Japanese now, possibly for the convenience of the three girls beside them.

"The old man wants me to fill you in on some of the students in your class. A few of them you've already found out, it seems, so it's been narrowed down to…" He counted on his fingers quickly, and then subtracted one from the final count. "Three. The first is a little more obvious, as I saw she wasn't present in class. Zazie Rainyday. Lord knows where she came from, most of us don't really know. What is known, however, is that among those already in the Nightmare Circus, a student-mage prodigy group with a common interest, Zazie is the biggest loose cannon. She's taken as many deals as Tatsumiya o'er yonder, not at all for a common benefit. However, it would appear something has gone awry in the course of her actions."

The American paused for a moment, staring off into the setting sun, as though to give Negi time to digest the information. Indeed, that was what Negi did with the time, but also began to worry for Zazie. No matter what, Zazie was still his student. That was his mentality.

"What do you mean by 'gone awry'?" Negi said shakily, after several moments of thought.

The American did not respond, his chin resting upon his hands. Finally, he looked up, as though he hadn't been listening, and laughed before apologizing once more.

"It would appear that either she's taken a job too big for herself, or, she's gotten herself…" Another pause, as he rifled through his vocabulary for a softer word, "Restrained."

He did not look happy with this choice, but tried to hide his emotions. Still, while his mood was obvious, his face was hard to read, possibly because it seemed so generic. Setsuna had spent the past few minutes holding the information while trying to discern his true purpose. This was information even she, the bodyguard of the headmaster's granddaughter, did not know. The fact that there could be a threat in her class was troubling.

"Restrained?" She asked warily.

There was no pause this time, though he still looked away, troubled.

"One of the following: Killed, captured, enslaved, incapacitated. She herself has stated that she would not miss class for a job."

"She told you that?" Asuna looked up, bewildered. To Setsuna and Negi, it seemed as though she regarded the whole conversation as a joke.

Relief filled his eyes, and the American laughed once more, and then stopped. After staring into space for a moment he laughed again.

"No, she didn't. It's an oath that Nightmare Circus members must take. Anyways, I've failed to introduce myself, huh? I know all you guys. My name is…" He paused once more, before what appeared to be a sudden realization. "Minami. If you'll believe that. I know the Shinmei girl won't."

Setsuna nodded complacently, growing more and more wary. It was no secret that Setsuna was a Shinmeiryuu practitioner, but for him to be so lax and point out suspicions so easily…!

"Now, next is your class president. Yukihiro Ayaka. The reason the Yukihiro Group supports Mahora Academy and all its endeavors so much is out of a sense of security. The Group already has several mages whom we've accepted as part of us, working with us to protect one of the school's greatest treasures. If she is captured, it could very well expose and diminish the Yukihiro Group's power. Yukihiro Ayaka, as a result, is not exposed to magic, and has been kept a secret from all her staff excluding the butler who has served her from young age. The mage members of the Yukihiro Group, to protect their own estate as well, stopped practicing magic, vowing only to do so in dire situations."

'Minami' paused again, but this time to accept the food that Satsuki had placed before him. He picked one up and began to devour it, motioning for the rest to begin. And as he began to eat, Ako and company stopped. Magic. That certainly described what had been going on during the festival. It seemed to make perfect sense, yet it shocked them all the same. The lights. Magic. The battles. Magic. The guns. Magic. However, while failing to notice the dim sum soup dribbling down her uniform, Yuna noticed that Asakura was barely surprised. In fact, she was contemplating. The four girls would have thought she was taking the shock a different way, had her next phrase not revealed her.

"Never expected that Iincho and Zazie would be mages too. Ah, well, Negi isn't the only one."

Ako stared at her for a moment, and opened her mouth to say something. However, Makie beat her too it, though with much more gusto than accepted.

"What?! Negi-kun's a mage?"

However, she shot up when she did this, smashing the microphone device. It caused an even greater clamor, as Kazumi now jumped into the fray, looking very well ready to strangle Makie. With the normal scuffle around Chao BaoZi, neither any of the Negi party or Minami turned.

As they ate, Setsuna watched Minami. His name certainly wasn't Minami, surname or given. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but he wasn't Japanese. Maybe Korean. But his lack of any deficient accent astonished her, as his English was also perfect, albeit American perfect. She turned back to her dim sum, deciding that it was the headmasters order, and therefore must be maintained. As she took her first bite, Minami began again, slapping his chopsticks to the table.

"The last of the three you need to know about is by far the most protected. Her tendencies act as a natural barrier, and make guarding her very easy. She stays out of the spotlight, out of the field, and inside, working. If she had partaken in the Mages vs. Mars battle her shots might have destroyed significantly more. That's the case with mages of her caliber. However, I've been told to be careful with her, mentioning her name at this point in my speech will threaten her safety."

After he whispered into Negi's ear, the ground behind them exploded.

Elsewhere, as her friends and classmates had been off enjoying their supper at the dim sum cart, Natsumi was being treated to Chizuru Naba's cooking. With each bite, she squealed with delight, as though she had been eating her cooking for the first time. As it so happened, Natsumi was so in love with Chizuru's cooking she would have requested to marry the buxomly girl as soon as they both hit legal age. However, that was a fantasy of selfish desires to eat as much of Chizuru's orgasmic cooking for the rest of her life. She had a different fantasy, one which she was less proud of. Living with Yukihiro Ayaka, however, she had a better stance. While Yukihiro Ayaka was hopelessly in love with the gentlemanly ten-year-old teacher Negi, Natsumi was strangely attracted to the older version of the young boy sitting across from her, Kotaro 'Murakami' Inukami.

Natsumi was aware of magic the day she met Kotaro. His transformation from dog to boy, the encounter with Herrman, all of it had to be magic. Then she thought back to the festival, the tournament. If Kotaro wasn't magic, then the entire fight had been fabricated. Natsumi was completely unwilling to believe that the entire tournament was just a well placed hoax. She had seen the injuries that Kotaro received, the damage the stage took each round. Chao had said it herself; magic, and the dark world. It was all very confusing, but Natsumi soon began to accept it as time moved along.

Natsumi also felt a strange shame from being attracted to Kotaro the day she met him. First of all, when she first actually 'met' him, he was lying facedown, naked, on a towel, before assaulting her and Chizuru. Second, for the first week or so, he was running around wearing her clothes, which forced her to spend an awful lot of time with him. Third, she had seen a glimpse of his older self. She fainted that day at the festival.

However, there was the inconvenience that rooted itself also on day one. Kotaro's last name was officially listed as 'Murakami', which made him her younger brother. Yukihiro Ayaka would practice incest for Negi, but Natsumi had no such wish. Natsumi, on the other hand, wished for the magic that could make Kotaro older again. If he was older, maybe no one would recognize him. All this thinking made her blush.

"Oh? Natsumi-chan, what's wrong? Do you have a fever?" Chizuru cooed, reaching across the table to feel her shy roommate's forehead. "Or... Is it something else?" The mischievous girl shot an all-knowing glance at Kotaro, who was staring right into his rice bowl. The only person Natsumi really feared was her beloved Chizu-ne.

As Natsumi slipped her loaded chopsticks into her mouth, a loud explosion knocked them right back out.

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**Next Chapter**

An army of mages marches through Mahora, fended off by two individual groups battling the mages and each other. As terror strikes the Mahora Campus, an old friend strikes the Negi party.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Yea! I made it to chapter 3, without guilt! This is my first time focusing on two different characters at once, especially two minor characters. I get artistic license for this, right? I just realized that Prologue is Chapter 1. Boo-hoo. I need to go change that now. Spells normally invoked in Greek, for convenience's sake, will be transliterated into Latin, courtesy of Wikipedia.

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**Tempestas Aegrotatio**

**Chapter 2**

"Now that I've told you all this, I can kill you now."

Negi looked down to see Minami's hand pointed in a finger gun at Negi's chest. At that precise moment, the ground exploded behind them. Minami swirled around and looked back and forth.

"There!" He cried, jumping high and punching his fist down. It was a maneuver Negi barely recognized.

_Kanka!_

Takahata's Kanka, coupled with his Iaido style of fighting, could create a devastatingly unexpected effect. However, Minami's shot seemed crude and strong, his punch wide and unrefined. To Negi and other professional fighters, it seemed like he only used the Kanka for its power, rather than as a feasible tool. However, he realized its limits and took the same precautions that Takamichi had during the tournament. Negi suddenly remembered what he had just done moments before.

"_**Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae!**_"

Minami twirled and muttered a single word, diving out of the way of the Magic Arrows. As he reared his fist to fire another shot, Asuna and Setsuna charged him, their respective weapons raised high in the air.

"Zazie! Mana!"

A shot erupted from the crowd, catching Asuna in the side; the ensuing collision gave Minami enough time to fire at Negi. Negi watched the bright light near him quickly, and closed his eyes to shield himself from the strange heat…

Kotaro was out the door moments after the explosion erupted. He saw the look on Natsumi's face when he left, and felt sorry for her. She really had filled into the role as her older sister, constantly worrying about him. For the first time, he felt like he had someone to depend on if he was troubled. His parents, whom he didn't even know, had abandoned him. Neither of his people accepted him. None of those people who had hired him or worked with him had some any concern as to what happened to him, unless their money was at stake. But Natsumi and Chizuru took care of him and all that from pure civility. He really did feel at home, but as a man felt as though he had to reciprocate. Whenever he asked to work for rent they refused. Long ago Kotaro had recognized what he was already doing for them. He was fighting with those girls tucked in his heart, the handkerchief of the chivalrous knight. Yet something else was needed, but he couldn't feel it.

He dove off the balcony and ran to the square, pushing aside screaming and dawdling individuals. Another explosion rocked the ground in the square, and Kotaro doubled his effort, flying high in the air. By then, his sharp ears could hear Negi's spell, someone calling out for the gunslinger girl and someone else, and a gunshot. Two screams and a roar of what sounded like flame.

Kotaro landed, and saw Negi helpless against a wave of what appeared to be Takahata's Kanka. Without another thought, he dashed forward.

"_**Inukami!**_"

The black dogs shot forward in a Macross Missile Massacre, stopping the Kanka with a brilliant show. The two opposing forces blew out around Negi, creating a brilliant black-and-white glow all about him. Kotaro, by this point, was thoroughly pissed. He hadn't finished his Chizuru wrought dinner, and some jackass was running around Mahora shooting at his friends. However, he fought with the handkerchief of the chivalrous knight tucked in his heart, and he was not going to let it go. Kotaro's face lightened with the new motivation, and shot Negi the usual banter.

"Yo, Negi! Looking a bit shabby there!"

"Kotaro-Kun!" Negi shouted with glee, knowing that this one person, even with Mana and Zazie on Minami's side, would help him win it all.

Far from the fresh battle, Ako was frozen to her seat. Yuna and the others, excluding Kazumi, who was calling up the rest of the Negi Party, had run off, attempting to take Ako with them. Yet some inexplicable magic stuck her to the chair, and her body was stiff. Long after Kazumi had run off as well, having absolutely no combat potential, Ako stood, talking small, far and between steps to the battle.

Within this shell's cranial cavity the real Ako had awoken, amidst the ethereal realm of her own mind. Yet she could not see what horrors her frail physical body was nearing, and was only aware of the thoughts that flew through her 'mind', striking at her with determined aim.

"_What a beautiful baby!"_

_A small crowd was huddled around a woman and her proud husband, making cooing noises and poking playfully at a small baby. _

_Indeed, she is a beautiful child, thought many of the family members and friends, but what of that peculiar scar on her back?_

_The baby's tiny body had been in the world only three days and was conceived with an unsightly scar running diagonally down her back. Many of the guests had been convinced that it was a bad omen, and ran off before even carrying the child once. The baby's father's pride had wilted somewhat, but all the same, those who were aware of what he and his wife were respected him and revered the baby, including his most cherished friend. _

_The Thousand Master carried the baby with a floating spell, playfully and gently tossing the laughing baby about several times before catching her skillfully. He passed baby to her mother, having been the last to carry her. After several hours of party and drink, the skies grew dark, and several of the guests began to depart, hoping to get to the gate to the magic world before it closed. The Thousand Master was the last to leave. _

_It was late in the night when the demons and mercenaries arrived, trudging up the mountain to avoid detection. They had left a slaughter on the side of the mountain, killing off all the guests one by one. The demons, happy with their latest meal, consented to walking up the mountain to hide themselves. Slowly, the moderate house loomed over the hilltop as the mages made their slow ascent. _

"_This many mages for what, a mage, her partner, and their newborn child? It's not like the Thousand Master will be there!" The mages around this commenter laughed, but quickly silenced themselves when the first lights flashed over the hill._

_The house exploded, leaving one wall completely gone. The baby began to cry, and a young man ran down the stairs to see his house in shambles. _

"**ADEAT!" **_he cried, hoping to buy his wife some time to escape with the baby. Lunging forward at the group of mages he began to cut them down, one by one, avoiding the deadly brigade of demons close by. The magical sword that he had been granted by the contract extended and retracted, stabbing through the mages at impossible distances. Swinging here, stabbing there, the mercenary group was reduced to as little as ten mages and twenty demons, from the original force of nearly seventy. _

_The father of the newborn never saw the man rise from the water. He died with a stone spear through his back, gasping blood. _

"_I feel sorry for him. My own child was born just a week ago, and here I am, killing someone who could probably be his greatest ally in the future. Ah well, a job's a job."_

_The murderous mage pointed a hand to the ceiling and muttered his spell in ancient Greek…_

"**JOVIS TEMPESTAS FULGURIENS!"**

_The spell broke through the house and killed the mage in an instant, blowing most of the remaining mages away. By this time, half the house was still there, and the baby was still crying._

"_Nagi!" cried the baby's mother, clutching the wailing child to her breast. _

"_Stay there!" Nagi cried, rushing to her. The baby's father was dead, his body accidentally incinerated by Nagi's own spell. Tears rolled down his face to repent for his crimes, only to be coldheartedly wiped away with a sleeve of his cloak. There was now a cold determination in his eyes, a determination to save the wife and child of his dead comrade, and a determination that powered his fatal spell._

"**Kenetetos…" **_The lighting crackled in his hand as he marched slowly towards his last foe, a large demon._

"**Astrapsato…" **_His eyes were now blazing and fiery, hidden behind unkempt hair. He would kill this demon with a final flourish, in revenge for his fallen friend._

"**de Temeto!" **_Head and fist were reared at once, a prelude to jumping high in the air above the demon's head…_

"**DIOS TUKOS!" **_His fist came crashing down upon the stubborn demon's club, the roar of the thunder paled by Nagi's own scream. The lighting vaporized the demon with little effort, yet had an unexpected shockwave. In moments the house was gone, as was a woman's agonized scream. _

_The burning remains of the house stood before Nagi, surrounded by charred land. First he destroyed the body of his friend. Then he destroyed the house he struggled to build for his new family, and his wife and child as well. Nagi fell to his knees and cried openly, staring at the ruins blankly. As he fell to his hands to ask for forgiveness, he heard a child cry. Nagi looked up, hope compelling him to stand once more._

_Before him lay the mother's battered body, yet, she was still alive. Her frail arms clutched to the wailing child, covering her with love and blood. The baby was unscathed, shielded entirely by her mother's fading embrace. Her arms parted slightly and her fingers wrapped around the tiny baby's body, holding them up to Nagi. The poor mage understood what was to be, and let his tears wash away the blood on the baby's belly. With teary eyes, Nagi once more laid his eyes upon the beautiful widow, and hoped to take her with him as well… _

"_Run…" She whispered, "Take her and run, please."_

_Nagi clutched the baby close to himself, watching her with utter amazement, as the mother stood and turned to an advancing cloud of demons. She turned and smiled to him, silently commanding him once more. The helpless Thousand Master mounted his staff and flew off, turning after a distance. _

_A bright light emitted from her back, the shape of a suppressed sunburst, stretching from shoulder to waist. As Nagi watched from his safe perch in the sky a giant shadow erupted from her body, moving forward ever so slowly._

_Evil's Angel crushed the clouds with a lazy swat, and then began to decimate the hill and the surrounding valley, before fading away with its summoner. Nagi stared at the scene blankly for a moment, and then cried her name into the skies, dropping slowly to the scorched earth._

Minami flew around the encircled Negi party in a clamp with Zazie, watching Mana shoot at her classmates to keep them together. The man named South and the acrobat flew at the trapped group striking through with deadly efficiency, splitting the targets two and two. Negi and Asuna were burned by the powerful Kanka, while Setsuna, Konoka, and Kotaro were sliced up horribly by Zazie's blood red nails. After the assaulting pair flew high into the air, Mana shot at them all with her Desert Eagles, leaving the team badly hurt. Konoka had fainted and lay unconscious on the floor, shaken by a crying Setsuna. Negi's staff lay under a table several meters away, and Asuna and Kotaro stood shakily, hoping to intimidate them. Minami and Zazie landed in perfect unison, only to be blown away by a powerful spell.

The pair stood on a hill far away, watching the battle in the square take place. Nagi watched with a deep scowl, while his companion stared through his thin sunglasses with a small frown.

"She's here, isn't she?" The Thousand Master asked his partner.

"Yes", his companion nodded, "She's very close by. Also, they've made it, and they've managed to dismantle the school's defenses."

Nagi's face lightened and he laughed, though it was not a laugh of pure and innocent amusement. It was a dark laugh, a laugh that one would laugh if he had set a trap.

"Evangeline will have a field day with them, and then she'll thank the corpses. Her magic has been released, and she has a nice batch of targets to destroy."

The other young man snorted once. He had introduced himself to Nagi as Riese, though looking at him once, Nagi could tell of what brood he was. However, Riese never once alluded to his past or his real name, so Nagi left him alone. It wasn't fair though. Everyone knew about him, so why can't he for once ask about a lone vagrant?

"Anyways, Riese, let's get going before things get out of hand."

He nodded and dropped into the shadows, leaving Nagi to fly to the center of Mahora. He never understood how one managed to do that.

A mass of hooded mages stood behind the fallen mercenaries, stretching across the square and up the steps leading down to it. Mahora was now officially under siege, but who was fighting who?

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**Next Chapter**

Ako is released from her trance to find her beloved home is being destroyed by French mages. Who had sent them, and why were they attacking so mercilessly? They are aided by Negi's stone-conjuring idol, Fate, who has a strange grudge against the Thousand Master and Ako.


End file.
